Feeling himself
by Lucicelo
Summary: Hiroki thought that his secret stint in the music industry would stay a secret. Until, an ex bandmate exposed him through national television. Chaos ensues through Hiroki's private and work life.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: This is a fun loving oneshot where Hiroki was in a boyband during his early twenties and quit because of school. It's almost hilarious imagining Hiroki strutting around the stage and being sexy af, but I wanted to put out something a bit fun loving.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading.**_

 _ **-Lucicelo**_

* * *

 _Inside of a brightly lit studio, the host of the show, Taka, listened in fascination as a ex-member of the group, Abyss, relayed the current status of the men. All of them, except for Tachibana Jiro, stayed in the music industry. Jiro became a producer of up and coming idols that broke into the charts. He had not gotten a big star in his roster, but tended to have an eye for new recruits._

 _The studio audience laughed or clapped depending on the answer of Tachibana Jiro. More often than not, they clapped in politeness and listened with half and ear. Their attention came to the forefront when Taka began asking about the other members. The women listened in rapture for their old bias and tweeted the answers that Jiro gave out._

 _In no time, many of the nostalgic fans began responding to tweets about the old boy group._

 _"So, Eiji is in the business world. **Wow**. From old interviews, he seemed interested in continuing music once Abyss ran its course."_

 _"He had no choice once the agreement with his family ended. They wanted the group to succeed in two years or he entered his father's business. All the ultimatums and guilt trips wore Eiji down. It's a shame. He developed **some** talent overtime." The wide man wore a gaudy patterned suit which glared against the studio lights. _

_"Interesting, interesting." The reported switched the cue card for the one underneath. "The one that all the nostalgic fans want to know about is Kanno Nobuhiro. The songbird of the group!"_

 _A section of Kanno Nobuhiro's clips flitered through the tv in the background. Different stills displayed a young man with spiked up layered hair in a variety of stage outfits. There were also some rare off stage snapshots that a member managed to snap in secret. In every image, he wore different colored contacts, eyeliner and a hint of makeup to display his features. The last past showed off a portion of his singing talent which caused a round of applause in the room._

 _Through the loud commotion of the crowd, Jiro managed to hide his sliver of jealousy. Out of all the members, Kanno Nobuhiro and Kanno Asato, became the fan favorites. He became background fodder and didn't match up to the rest of the guys. His appearance and singing voice paled in comparison. He thought his chance came from sticking it out with the group, but the label disbanded Abyss once word broke about the better looking members leaving the group._

 _He tried a hand at a solo career, but his old manager seemed skeptical in putting money into him. Enraged, he switched managers and tried promoting himself through various forms of media from the time. His popularity didn't skyrocket as expected._

 _His solo career ended in a flop._

 _He gave up his musical aspirations for a managerial career. His eye for finding golden nuggets became a staple of his. These idols and groups rose up after leaving his hands, but he **discovered** them. He made a good living in the music industry, but in the background, away from the view of the crowds. _

_Taka grinned. "So, what ever happened to Kanno-san? I'm curious to know."_

 _Jiro's smile stiffened when he answered. "Ah- You see Nobuhiro is now a literature professor. He's **not** in the music industry."_

 _"Really?!" The reporter leaned forward, surprised at the vast different in career change from the song bird of the group, Abyss. "I would have thought that Kanno Nobuhiro would be somewhere in the industry or even making a comeback."_

 _A condescending snicker came from Jiro as he explained. "No, no. Nohubiro was always a book type sort of guy. I almost saw his resignation coming when his cousin left the group due to a family emergency. I'm sure Nobuhiro used the chance to finish his education and never looked back. He tended to complain about having no time for his schoolwork. He wasn't as driven as **I** was."_

 _"Maybe, my cousin knows Nobuhiro through his personal name." Taka mused out loud. "He teaches literature? Was that correct?"_

 _"Absolutely correct!" Jiro chortled. "It should be easy to find him. His real name is **Kamijou Hiroki.** "_

* * *

New and old students from Mitsuhashi blew up social media from the shock of having a celebrity as a professor.

The image of Professor Kamijou singing and dancing on stage seemed comical to those who grew used to Demon Kamijou's infamous lectures. From the fans of jpop groups, they tried overlaying the current sex symbol onto Demon Kamijou and they shivered in fear. None of them wanted to admit that the demon might have sex appeal. Maybe, the professor kept it hidden from their view or maybe his early twenties were his glory days.

The groups promotional photos caused a huge debate between the young ladies who found Kanno Nobuhiro, hot as hell, but the other men were handsome as well. Finding current photos of the old members, almost _all_ of them grew into handsome mature men. To their disappointment, a majority of the old members were in happy marriages or moved overseas.

A pity.

Many of the more bitter students attempted to discredit Professor Kamijou, but found themselves taking it back once the singles resurfaced. Kanno Nobuhiro's solo songs made them feel emotions and changed their perspective of the man. These heartfelt songs showed a whole different side of the infamous demon. A soft and altruistic soul.

Through extensive research, the live performances came to light. A majority of them contained bad quality clips and iffy sounds. An anonymous student upgraded better quality video to show off more of the group members and to make it palpable for people to watch. No one watched 240 definition.

Another different anonymous user, uploaded CDs showed a large vocal range between members.

New fans of Abyss formed that night.

As a result, Kamijou Hiroki became a Mitsuhashi sensation overnight.

* * *

Entering through the gates of Mitsuhashi, Hiroki peered down at his phone when a barrage of dings interrupted his thoughts. Taking out his phone, all his messages contained family members who sent emojis and exclamation points. Confused, Hiroki stopped for a brief moment and opened the one from his mother. She started with a good morning message before she sent a barrage of hearts.

"Weird." Hiroki clicked his tongue before responding to his mother. He'd look into his relatives when he settled into his office. Half the time, he deciphered their reasons through the preview message alone. "Mom is probably in an extra loving mood today."

His eyebrows rose at the sight of a new message coming from his _father_. His father upheld the position of sending _no_ text messages. The old man saw it as a waste of time and rather speak to a person on the phone. Granted, Hiroki used to have the same aversion to texting, but with the insistent text messages from family and Nowaki, he somewhat changed his ways.

Opening the text, he rolled his eyes at the thumbs up emoji that his father sent him.

The first text from his father and it ended up being a thumbs up emoji.

 _Fantastic_.

Sending his father a confused sort of emoji, he put his phone back in his pocket and resumed walking. During his walk, he couldn't help but notice the overabundance of students giving him second looks. The usual looks of trepidation were replaced with _appreciative_ glances. He thought he heard giggling from various groups of young women.

The change of mood from the students _creeped_ him out.

* * *

Almost as if Miyagi honed in on Hiroki's presence, the door swung open with a loud slam. Miyagi declared in glee and delight. _"My sweet honey!_ You're finally here!"

Hiroki maneuvered out of Miyagi's attempt at hugging him and went straight to his desk. "Miyagi." He set his briefcase next to his lesson plans, craving a good charged cup of coffee. Having left home in a hurry, he forgot to grab his thermostat of coffee that Nowaki tended to leave on the counter for him.

" _So_." Miyagi drawled out. "Any news you want to tell me?"

Hiroki shrugged his shoulders. "I'm suddenly _popular_ with my family members. I guess. Nothing else." Turning to Miyagi, he saw the clown like smile on his face. A bad feeling developed in the bottom of Hiroki's stomach. A _smug_ Miyagi meant _trouble_. "What's _wrong_ with you?"

Miyagi snatched his own phone from his pocket and fiddled with it real quick. "Oh, you'll see." He pressed his finger onto the screen and waited with baited breath.

To Hiroki's surprise, piano music reached his ears. As a lame old fashioned sort of guy, Miyagi listened to music that his own father stopped listening to. Although, he didn't expect the man to listen to instrumentals.

Arching a brow, he stood before Miyagi, waiting out his weird behavior. In his experience, once Miyagi let out his jokes, it didn't become an annoyance later on in the day. After a few passing seconds, the music Miyagi played sounded nice and... _familiar_.

Once he heard his own voice come from Miyagi's phone, _any_ inkling of amusement left Hiroki's mood. Launching forward, he tried grabbing Miyagi's phone, but Miyagi held it up from his grasp. "How did you-"

"You're viral, Hiroki!" Miyagi grinned. "That's how!" He fake swooned when Hiroki's voice reached a high tone, a serene and soothing mood came from the song. "Oh my, who were you singing this to? So emotional and romantic."

Hiroki gritted his teeth. "Miyagi, this is _not_ funny. Turn that off! Someone might hear you!"

Miyagi snorted. "Didn't you hear what I said? You're _viral_ around the city of Tokyo."

"No."

"Meaning,"

" _No_."

" _Everyone_ in Mitsuhashi knows about Kanno Nobuhiro!" Miyagi exclaimed.

Hiroki backed up against his desk and stammered out. "W-who the hell leaked my name?!"

Miyagi cradled his phone close to his chest as he tilted his head to the side. "Leaked your name?"

Hiroki rubbed his temples as he let out a shaky sigh. "I left the music industry behind to pursue this path. I had no intention of going back and resuming where I left off. That's why I used a pseudonym so no one would find out about me once I became a professor." He grabbed his phone from his pocket and read the messages. He saw nothing but _accolades_ from his _whole_ family, well the ones who had his cellphone number.

He tried not to blush at the barrage of old photos that Asato sent to him. Some of the outfits that the costume designers chose, tended to showcase the abs that he developed from _excessive_ exercise. Asato even screenshotted various messages that their extended and close cousins sent to them. _All_ positive for the _celebrities_ in their family.

Miyagi worried his lower lip. "Well, your name was aired on national television."

Hiroki snapped his head up, Miyagi winced at the almost breakneck speed. "You better tell me who-"

"Uh..." Miyagi checked on his phone for the original interview. He read the name on the title of the video and responded. "Someone named...Tachibana Jiro? Damn, he didn't age well. I thought group members or ex group members took care of themselves or something."

"That _fucker_!" Hiroki slammed his hand onto his desk, making his cup of pencils and pens fall onto the floor. "Jiro was _always_ a snake, but I never imagined he would be this spiteful! He knows for a fact that I wanted to leave my music past behind. He is being a petty because he flopped without the rest of us."

Miyagi pocketed his phone. "Well, it's too late now. On my way here, I heard the students playing your music. So...it's spread _all_ over the campus."

" _Fuck_."

* * *

As Hiroki neared his classroom, he heard one of his romantic ballads playing from beyond the wooden doors. One of the classics he wrote during a depressing one sided love pity party. Sighing, Hiroki stopped in front of his door. He resigned himself to having a distracted classroom for the _whole_ hour. All of his classes would be the exact same way.

No use getting annoyed at his students when his anger pointed toward his ex band mate.

The sleaze ball.

Opening the door, Hiroki walked inside and saw his students scrambling back toward their seats. The music was cut off, leaving the room in an awkward silence. Hiroki scored his face into a neutral expression to keep himself from laughing at their fear.

His students expected him to begin screaming at _any_ moment. A normal sort of reaction when they behaved in an immature manner, but not over his own personal life. He wanted to enjoy their hesitation before a new view of him formed and _buried_ his demon reputation.

Oh well.

Stopping in front of his desk, he set down his bag and turned his attention on his students. A lot of them turned their attention away from him or looked down at their desks.

"Let's get this over with." His students turned their eyes onto him and seemed confused. "Ask your questions before I change my mind." Hiroki responded to a variety of questions, taking careful strides to not reveal too much information.

After this first class, the rest of the day consisted of students from other departments stopping him whenever he left his classroom or his office. Even in his boy group days, his experiences in meeting up with fans consisted of meet and greets. Other times, it came from the ever changing venues that grew in capacity. As Kanno Nobuhiro , he stayed in a cool persona and managed to conceal his true identity.

Now, he was plain old Kamijou Hiroki. A once feared professor that used to be in a boy band. His demon persona went down the drain once Kanno Nobuhiro's persona resurfaced.

Hiroki hoped the onslaught of positive reactions to his presence lessened down sooner than later.

Although, he enjoyed hearing multiple people compliment his singing voice. He used to feel embarrassed over his singing abilities, but it lessened to mild discomfort because of practice. His cousin, Asato, had the angelic singing voice of the family. One of the reasons why Asato went to different auditions for a chance to enter a group of a company. He tried out after Asato badgered him for weeks and dragged him to an audition.

He got a spot and ended up in the same group as Asato. A relief for his worried aunt who thanked him for sticking to his cousin's side. He didn't have the heart to admit that his cousin annoyed him to try out.

This chance of a lifetime gave him an outlet for the artistic feelings in his soul before he decided on a life of literature.

He never regretted leaving that life behind.

* * *

Hiroki's face went bright red at the sight of one of his _raunchier_ performances on his _living room screen_. Damn Nowaki for convincing him to buy one of those smart tvs for their living room. The convenience of having the wi-fi connected to their tv, _backfired_ on him.

He froze in place, mortified at seeing his hips thrusting to the beat of the song. A younger him seduced the camera and anyone who caught his glance. His cousin, Asato, licked his lips at the camera while Hiroki winked over his shoulder. He tried deleting this song and the performances that came along with it from his mind, but seeing it in front of him brought back _memories_.

He remembered having to _psyche_ himself to even go on stage to perform this piece in particular.

On his place on the sofa, Nowaki turned around with a visible pout. "Hiro-san! Why didn't you tell me that you were in a group? I would have listened to _all_ of your music!"

Hiroki jumped in shock before he averted his gaze. "It's all in the past."

Nowaki huffed. "But, Hiro-san, you kept this a secret from _me_. I have told you _everything_ about me."

Hiroki turned his gaze back to Nowaki. "I'm allowed _my_ secrets, Nowaki. Besides, this was a long time ago and I don't even play the piano anymore." He looked back at the screen and sighed. "My day has been shit."

Awareness filled Nowaki's eyes as he smiled light. "Lay it on me,"

Hiroki walked around the couch and sat beside Nowaki. "It wasn't... _bad_. My students paid close attention to me. _All day_. I kept getting hounded for autographs and I even had people asking for my photo. I can't even imagine my old bandmates day."

"Ah, the _horror_." Nowaki teased Hiroki as he pressed a kiss against the side of Hiroki's head. "A fan _asking_ for an _autograph_. Whatever shall you do?"

Hiroki nudged Nowaki's chest with his hand and snorted. "Asshole. Feel sympathy for me."

Nowaki chuckled. " _I do_. I'm just happy that you're getting the recognition you deserve."

"I'd rather be the _devil_ of the literature department. Having people accost me over my past isn't my idea of a productive day. Miyagi warned me that the theatre department wanted to meet with me for some singing pointers." He rubbed his face with his hands and leaned against Nowaki. "I couldn't even focus on teaching because the girls kept dissecting me with their eyes. One was even bold enough to say I was _still_ as sexy as I was in my early twenties."

Nowaki nodded his head. "I agree. You're still _very_ sexy." He got close to Hiroki's ear and muttered. "Hmm. _Very sexy._ "

A pleasurable shiver went down Hiroki's spine. He kept his eyes on screen to have a focus on something. After multiple years together, Nowaki found certain spots to make him freeze on the spot.

Nowaki kissed behind Hiroki's ear, he grinned at the low whimper that Hiroki tried to hide. "Too bad for your students. You're already _taken_. No one else can see you like this."

Gathering himself, Hiroki scooted closer to Nowaki. " _Happily_ taken."

Nowaki encompassed him in a loose, but firm, hug. "Good." Burrowing his nose into Hiroki's hair, he went back to enjoying Hiroki's dancing on the tv.

Enraptured by the parts Hiroki sang, Nowaki kicked himself for not figuring out Hiroki's musical talents. He knew of the _piano_ , but not of the _singing_ or _dancing_.

"I have to say," Hiroki observed his old outfit on screen. "I'm pretty sure I can _still_ fit into that outfit. The costume department tended to let us keep outfits that we liked. I remember that my cousin snuck it into my suitcase as a practical joke. I almost kicked his ass because of it. The little shit knew better than to fiddle with my stuff."

Nowaki stiffened in place as he imagined _his_ Hiro-san in the leather outfit. The black leather would _cling_ in _all_ the right areas. He salivated at the thought. He croaked out. "O-Oh really?"

Hiroki tilted his head back and let his old persona take over. "I might not exercise like I did back then, but my pants size _is_ the same." He lifted his hand and patted Nowaki's cheek. "I _might_ indulge you one day. Birthday? A surprise?"

Nowaki's voice cracked. "Surprise!"

" _Surprise_?" Hiroki hummed. "Oh, I don't know."

"Please?" Nowaki's heart sped up as Hiroki's hand traveled down his neck.

Hiroki broke out of character and stuck out his tongue. "Just kidding. Be content to see my young self online. I'm sure someone posted more old videos of Abyss." He set his hand on Nowaki's thigh and squeezed the area. "Unless...you can _convince_ me."

Nowaki blushed bright red as he gulped. "Hiro-san...you're _dangerous_." He burrowed his face in the crook of Hiroki's neck. "No wonder you had - _no_ \- have so many fans. You're so sexy!"

Hiroki bit his bottom lip to stop himself from laughing at Nowaki's despair. He should have dipped back into his boy band days to have stopped any embarrassing moments. Then again, Nowaki's seduction techniques tended to make his mind blank out and poke at his stubborn nature. Nowaki had no such troubles or insecurities.

How dare Nowaki capture his heart without being an awkward mess?

Ruffling Nowaki's hair, he let out a sigh. "I'm a little _tired_." He somewhat gripped Nowaki's locks and tugged. Nowaki _loved_ having his hair pulled. "I'm going to shower and then going to bed. Listening to me?"

Nowaki answered. "Yes."

"You're going to have to let me go now." Hiroki loosened his grip on Nowaki's hair and placed his hands on his lover's strong arms. "Good thing I don't work tomorrow." Nowaki's grip weakened as Hiroki got up from the couch. "I'll see you in twenty minutes." Once he left the living room, an audible groan echoed through the apartment.

 **The end.**


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: I got the idea of Hiroki's cousin, Asato, convincing their old members to do a comeback on youtube for old times sake. The idea was just too funny not to write as a continuation. And I ended up making this longer than the original, but I had to put in cute moments with Hiroki and his old bandmates._**

 ** _Thank you for reading!_**

 ** _-Lucicelo_**

* * *

Hiroki spat out his perfect blend of black tea in mortification.

Sitting across from him, his cousin, Asato, beamed in pride over his announcement. "After hearing the buzz we got from your reveal, I wanted to get the group together for a mini album! I talked to our old manager and he is stoked for a reunion! I still have copies of some old songs we all chipped in to write so we have some content to belt out."

Hiroki wiped his mouth with a napkin while giving Asato the stink eye. "I'm _busy_."

After the whole debacle of the announcement, the fanfare from old fans lessened to a point where he _wasn't_ stalked at his _job_. The image of people stopping him for autographs disturbed his workflow which made it almost _impossible_ for him to navigate throughout the campus. At some point, he heard about his students putting announcements online to stop stalking their professor and to leave him in peace.

In a way, his students became _protective_ of him.

It seemed the new ways of being a fan, warped fans into being intrusive in the idols lives. With new technologies, he should have known better than to underestimate a stalker. He heard the stories from different news outlets, but he assumed exaggeration in order to sell a story.

At the very least, the vocal and rude people turned their attention onto someone else.

Asato pouted. "Yeah right. I called your lover and he said you get the weekends off because you grade all your assignments on Fridays. You have _plenty_ of time to record a few songs or even go through a music video."

Hiroki slurped his tea, swallowed the mouthful, before slamming it onto the table. "Who in the hell would listen to us? Asato, there are prettier and more talented groups in the market. We _chose_ to leave the entertainment world behind."

Asato rolled his eyes as he leaned over the table. "Plenty of people want to listen to a comeback. I ended up posting an old photo of mine in my new Instagram account and old fans came _flocking_. We _have_ fans. Maybe, a few new ones came from the reveal, but they stuck around! Remember that sweet, sweet, check we both got in the mail?"

Hiroki ran his hand down his face. His stubborn cousin never relented unless he got his way. Asato was the one who pulled him into music after all. It was a wonder people didn't cave to the persistent bunch that made up his family. "You will _not_ convince me with money. I make more than enough to survive on my professor's check."

Asato's light brown eyes almost glinted when he said. "Before you really say no, I managed to convince Eiji to fly from _Korea_. And you know his workaholic ass would _never_ come to Japan for _nothing_. I sent him links to the video of the interview and he was _pissed_. Safe to say, he agreed when I told him I excluded Jiro from the reunion."

"Good, I never want to see Jiro's ass again, but," Hiroki blinked in utter disbelief at Asato's accomplishment. "You...managed to convince _Eiji_?"

"Yup!" Asato grinned. "I convinced his secretary that I wasn't an imposter before I got transferred to his private line. He recognized my voice and gave me his cellphone number where we ended up chatting. I could tell he missed being on stage and singing his lyrics. I have to say, he was the one out of everyone who _loved_ music."

Hiroki looked down at his tea. "Yeah...Eiji practiced way harder than all of us combined."

"Anyways, Eiji is coming in a few days and is bringing his songs." Asato clasped his hands together as he leaned back against his chair. "I found Tetsuo through his mother, he's married, and a stay at home dad with kids. He's in. Mamoru is a master sushi chef and I spoke to him through his restaurant number. He wants a more vocal role this time around. Minami is an interpreter for overseas businesses. He's on semi hiatus, so he has time to spare."

"Alright, alright." Hiroki cut in before Asato added more information to stun him. "I'm in."

* * *

They all met up in Asato's apartment in the suburbs of Tokyo. A decent sized apartment that accommodated full sized men and the future antics from them getting drunk that night. Hiroki bought a good rated sake bottle as a celebration gift on seeing these men again. Asato brought cans of his favorite beer and set it in his somewhat empty fridge. Asato tended to forget to buy groceries due to his constant ordering of take out.

Hiroki helped clean up the apartment and put well placed trash cans in appropriate areas. He knew they would somewhat trash Asato's home in their drunken stupors. Best to avoid tripping over cans through an attempt at keeping everything clean. Although, Hiroki knew someone would pull the can closer to their table.

The doorbell ran and a voice came from the voice box. Hiroki went to the video camera on the wall which showed him who stood outside the front door. Seeing the fresh faces of Tetsuo and Minami made his heart speed up. He had not seen them in _years._ Asato on the other hand, tried keeping up with their old bandmates through social media.

Looking at them in person, he saw vast differences after the last day of _Abyss._

Tetsuo had pure black hair, almost trimmed close to his scalp. Hiroki remembered that he used to have different colored stripes going through his shoulder length hair. He dressed in form fitting clothing, far more risqué than he ever dared. Now, Tetsuo dressed in loose shirts, jeans, and sneakers. Showcasing his easygoing lifestyle of running after two kids and keeping home.

Hiroki tried not to chuckle at the sight of Minami's face. Minami _stayed_ baby faced. Their bandmembers used to make fun of him for being the teenage heartthrob for the girls while being the oldest one of them all. It seemed Minami found a decent hairstyle to showcase his face and age him up a bit. Too bad he didn't grow any taller to match the rest of the group.

Pressing the button, Hiroki said. "You two made it right on time." Their blinding smiles caused Hiroki to smile as well. He went to the front door and opened it.

"Hiroki! Look at you! You haven't changed a bit!" Tetsuo hauled in a large bag filled with beer cans through the threshold.

Hiroki tossed out any ability of returning home without stumbling on his own feet. Good thing Asato kept numerous sets of futons for them to crash in his apartment for a night in of drinking. Half the time, Asato's coworkers tended to knock out on his floor more often than not. They didn't want to risk leaving the apartment and injure themselves.

Besides, Nowaki wouldn't miss him much. His lover was doing a double shift at the hospital and sent him updates with heart emojis. Nowaki supported his singing endeavors and encouraged his new hobby.

Minami wolf whistled with a wink. " _Damn_ , Asato wasn't joking. No wrinkles _or_ a beer belly! Sexy as ever."

Hiroki rolled his eyes before he slapped them both on the shoulders. He gave each one of them an awkward hug. "Okay, you flirts. Save the comments for your wives."

Tetsuo grinned. "Oh, I _always_ make sure to flirt with my lady. The suits are just so form fitting! Don't you compliment your man?"

Minami's eyes almost popped out his head before he turned to Hiroki. "You're in a relationship?! Well _damn_. Hiroki, I thought you were married to your books and most likely your career. Who's the lucky bastard who won you over?"

Hiroki's face went bright red. "Nowaki _ensnared_ me months _after_ Abyss disbanded." Before Tetsuo or Minami commented anything else, Hiroki added in. "He didn't know I was in Abyss. So, no, he _isn't_ a fanboy. I never told him, until Jiro's dumbass exposed me on TV. _Now_ , he's a fan."

Asato popped his head from behind the wall of the living room. "Poor Nowaki was sulking for _days_."

"It was a _day_." Hiroki spat out.

"That's not what you said-"

"Shut it!"

Minami muttered to Tetsuo. "Hiroki's lover got over his sulking through watching every single video about _Abyss."_

"I wouldn't be surprised if he did." Tetsuo snickered. "Hiroki really got into his sexy side back then."

A booming voice caused both men to jump. "Is the meeting at the front door or something?! _Move it_. This thing got heavy halfway during my train ride."

Tetsuo and Minami turned to see a large cooler blocking the face of their bandmate, Mamoru. They got over the step just in time before Mamoru kicked off his shoes to the corner. Mamoru stomped inside, his face red from the strain of carrying the cooler for a long period of time.

Hiroki managed to get a look at him as Mamoru rushed past him. He saw his five o clock shadow and a new scar on his eyebrow. Mamoru's cheekbones seem to sink in, showcasing his manly face shape. Appreciating Mamoru's biceps, Hiroki leaned against the wall and watched him haul the cooler onto the floor. He didn't think being a sushi chef caused the development of muscles.

Looking back to the door, Eiji waved at them with a slight smirk. His appearance didn't change much. The boyhood face transformed into a mature version of it. There was no scars or spots to speak of on his skin. His hair was combed back and the sides were cut short. He didn't appear tired of jetlagged. Hiroki swore that Eiji wore makeup to _amplify_ his handsome features.

Eiji hugged Minami and Tetsuo before he pulled Hiroki into a tight hug. "Other than the sushi, what other food will we have? I'm not complaining, but I want different options."

Hiroki patted Eiji's back. "Eh...we can order in other food. None of the nearby places are closed yet. I think the college kids tend to order out enough to keep them open."

"Good. I'm _starving."_

* * *

Hiroki held himself back from grabbing a _full_ plate full of sushi. Almost salivating at the sight of the to grade sushi, he scooted closer to the display Mamoru did to showcase the food. He selected a few of his favorite pieces and sat down on the low rise table. As the drinks were opened, he ate the first bite of sashimi. Hiroki froze for a few moments to savor the flavors. Hiroki thanked Mamoru and the fact he went into the culinary business. The man knew how to pick his fish and prepare them with pride.

Thirty minutes later, a delivery man dropped off a spread of different dishes. Eiji almost ran through his friends to grab a different portions of his favorites. Minami managed to dodge Eiji's war path, but landed on Mamoru's lap. They all shared a laugh as they spent time chatting and eating between bites.

At some point, groups broke off in different conversations.

Tetsuo hung his arm around Hiroki's shoulders as he showed off the pictures of his family on his phone. "Hikari and Nobuhiro are just so precocious! I have to keep an extra eye on them whenever we leave the house to the park."

Hiroki snickered. "You don't let them leave your sight? Tetsuo, I thought you would be the more _let them wander around_ sort of parent."

 _"Never!_ My precious babies are my life. No way am I going to give any possibility of them getting lost or kidnapped." Tetsuo moved his head to the side and harrumphed. "They will get the chance to explore when they get into middle school. In any case, I remember my idiot self as a child. I won't let them make the _same_ mistakes."

Hiroki nodded his head. "Yeah, I tended to stay out after dark too. Mom used to scold me until father intervened and convinced her to lay off a bit. If I was old enough to juggle different hobbies, then I can get home without trouble. Honestly, you can't keep a leash on them all the time."

"Enough of the clinginess of an overprotective daddy." Asato made a grabby hands motion and keened. "Lemme see the munchkins!"

As Tetsuo made the exchange, Mamoru and Eiji spoke about their businesses.

Mamoru gestures with his hands while he explained. "Of course, we tend to trim some fat on the advertisements since we use social media to promote my business. For the most part, I have to wake up in the ass crack of dawn to the get the prime cuts of fish. No way am I going to sell my customers lackluster fish."

Eiji nodded his head. "Quite excellent. Many people tend to not utilize social media to the highest potential. Many in my company tend to scoff at the idea of using a platform until I made an account and brought in younger CFO's from growing companies. We have a list of different companies to make business with through my actions." He paused to eat a bite of his bowl.

Mamoru sipped his beer before sampling his own sushi. "See? Old folks need to see the benefit of bringing in the technical age of advertisements. You'll lose business because the kids are _always_ online. They need to see online food critics to say something positive to make someone leave their house nowadays."

Minami chipped in. "Social media is how I have managed to keep my translating gig going. I post myself speaking all the different languages I know and link my online resume. Many of my old customers have left reviews online which makes the hiring process less stressful. I still send in resumes, but it looks good to have a good repertoire of different people back you up."

Tetsuo rose his voice up to gain his friends attention. "This is all well and good, but we have to plan this comeback. It's not like we're going to get drunk and get nothing done. Right?"

Asato leaned back against the sofa with a laugh. "Yeah...you're right. Uh..." He turned to Hiroki with a wink. "What do you think?"

When all of him bandmates turned to look at him, Hiroki grimaced. He thought Asato would turn to Eiji to push him to lead the conversation. After all, Eiji was the original leader of _Abyss._ He managed the interviews and made sure everyone practiced their routines. Jiro thought different. Hiroki remembered Jiro's _condescending_ comments whenever Eiji messed up on a aspect of their band. Hiroki snapped at the man more than enough times to make him despise him.

No wonder Jiro exposed him on TV. The man wanted to give him one last fuck you without him retaliating. Hiroki was pissed off for a week, but his students became different as a result. Having a _celebrity_ professor made them focus better in his lectures.

"First of all, we're not young men anymore. In fact, we're not the single young men in our twenties that we were when we were in _Abyss."_ Chuckles went through the group. "So, if we have to strategize, I say we write songs about the current state of our lives. Not that we can't sing raunchier topics. We're old enough to have gained experience in sex."

Eiji agreed. "Yes. I have to tweak the original material I brought in my USB drive. I can't sing a song that I wrote from my early twenties. It doesn't fit with my current age. It feels disingenuous and laughable."

Mamoru snickered. "Imagine singing about the struggles of when we were twenty? At our old as fuck age? Oh man, my nieces and nephews would roast me to hell."

Eiji continued. "Granted, we are closer to thirty than twenty, but we can always bring in the old fans and mature listeners."

Minami huffed. "I don't know about you guys, but I can get away with speaking out _my_ baby face-"

Hiroki interjected before the conversation went on a tangent. "Do we have a lead singer is _everyone_ getting a role?"

Asato, Minami, Mamoru, Tetsuo and Eiji stated. _"Everyone."_

Hiroki coughed into his hand. "Good. Every single one of us can sing. Too bad the company didn't think to utilize every single one of us. Hell, Mamoru has an excellent voice for a ballad."

Mamoru puffed out his chest. "My last relationship happened due my _incredible_ singing at a karaoke group date. I can attest to the fact that she stayed far longer than usual because I sang _all the time_."

Minami muttered to Tetsuo. "What a Romeo."

Tetsuo snickered.

Hiroki continued on. "Honestly, I came back to this fray because Asato annoyed me enough to say yes."

Asato beamed. "You may all thank me for dragging him back from his book fortress."

"Also, Jiro's little interview fucked up my reputation on campus." Hiroki huffed. "I preferred not having my students gawk at me because their professor used to be in a boy group. My superior teased me for weeks. And that man is notorious for holding embarrassing things over me until _something else_ catches his attention."

Eiji lifted up his beer in amusement. "So...spite?"

 _"Spite."_ Hiroki lifted his own beer. "Fuck Jiro and his tacky suits."

The rest of his bandmembers cheered with the sentiment.

* * *

Deciding on their line of songs came easy for the remaining members of _Abyss_. From the composition to the lyrics, everyone brought in a new element to their current stage of life. No one received less lyrics or elevated to the front due to favoritism. Without their last member, all of them found a sense of comradery in harmonizing and relearning their instruments.

It helped that none of them felt any bitterness for their positions in life. Every single one of them found a place in life and enjoyed dabbling back into music. Jiro's sudden exposure of Hiroki brought them all back together for a reunion.

Before they even started, Asato got in contact with their old manager. They didn't need the man to claim any wrong doings for their little passion project through using _Abyss._ Their old manager approved of their actions and promised a good cut for their online sales. No one bought full albums in the current market, unless they were nostalgic fans who wanted to support.

Either way, _Abyss_ was back in action.

In a stroke of genius, Minami brought up writing their own song for a solo. The solos were included in between each band song to showcase their vocal and instrumental abilities. No one disagreed with this move. In fact, one afternoon was spent on focusing on themes for their single tracks.

When they started recording, everyone made sure to warm up their voices. Going through old exercises caused them to make fun of one another and joke around. Hiroki lost himself in the moment. Memories of their youth popped into his mind. He missed the brotherhood he shared with these men and how they managed to make everything fun.

Spending time with his old friends was worth rushing through grading papers in the mornings.

* * *

A month later, the members of Abyss listened to their rushed product.

Hesitations came in the validity of the product. All six of them were the writers, producers, and artists. If anything else, their artistic ear might had dimmed over the years. To their shock, the songs came out decent and showcased their talents.

At the end of the day, they liked the songs and felt satisfaction in having closed their chapter of _Abyss._ Any lingering desire to perform was finished through going through the process of creating the album. Setting aside their real lives in the afternoons helped complete their album, but with strained instances with their partners or families.

They sent the audio files to their old manager for him to listen with new ears. The man took time out of his busy schedule to listen to each song. Any little nitpicks were fixed in the polishing stage through Eiji's talented editing skills.

When the album was launched online, the members of Abyss returned to their everyday lives.

Although, they went to a few more dinners before they separated for their own lives.

But, they kept a message group to never lose touch again.

* * *

During one of their last weekend dinners, Asato's phone rang. A familiar ringtone they used for their old manager in order to not ignore his call. In between the noise of the people and the cooking food in the grill, Asato answered with a cheery greeting.

Asato put the phone away from his ear as their old manager screamed and cried in happiness. "Damn...looks like we didn't do bad after all." He managed to calm down the man while telling the rest of the group about their cut.

Mamoru stretched his hands above his head and cheered. "Woo! I'll be able to have a set retirement fund out of this money! I might even be able to add some improvements to my restaurant."

Tetsuo dabbed the tears from his eyes at his problems leaving his shoulders. "My kids college fund might be set. Oh man, my wife is going to be so happy to hear that."

Hiroki shrugged his shoulders and motioned to Asato. "I have no inspirational comment. The idiot pulled me back into this, but... it's been fun going back into music. I did miss it in a way."

Eiji snickered, "I agree with Hiroki. I missed singing and performing."

Minami slurped down his beer. "I mean, if we can get back on stage that would be cool."

Mamoru, Tetsuo, Eiji, Asato, and Hiroki snapped their attention to Minami.

Minami chuckled sheepishly. _"What?_ All that work in doing this album and we're not going to sing it in front of people? A mini tour would be something I can get into."

Hiroki stated. "I work on the weekdays. I already pushed myself thin doing the recordings during the afternoons. Besides, we all agreed on the album and leave it at that."

Eiji concurred. "I took an early vacation to stay in Japan. I managed to extend this vacation through working online and using webcam meetings. I'm lucky enough not to have a big contract hanging over my head at the moment."

Asato and Tetsuo whined. "Aw." Both of their eyes seemed to water as they turned their sad expressions onto the men.

Hiroki flicked Asato's forehead with his finger. "Stop that."

* * *

During one of his breaks, Nowaki sat in the breakroom to eat his late dinner. He managed to get through a majority of his shift before he received an opening to eat food. The flu season tended to bring in groups of worried parents and their children. He didn't mind seeing his patients, but he needed a long break to recover from socializing.

Through his job, he learned his limits on socializing with multiple people every single shift. He answered the same questions of the well being of their children. He explained the medicines and the reason he prescribed this medicine to their child. Regardless, he didn't find fault in the parents overprotectiveness. They wanted to keep their kids safe from everything even the _invisible._

These appointments took him back to his youth. The orphanage didn't take them to a fancy hospital, but they went on a yearly visit to a cheap clinic that didn't strain the orphanage's budget. He remembered being in line and saw the lack of care on the doctor's face. He looked somewhat annoyed, but didn't show it in his voice. Nowaki didn't feel safe to ask questions or to even claim something hurt. He didn't even tell the caretakers that he scrapped himself.

He dealt with the pain and it went away eventually.

Then, he learned to internalize his complaints and desires.

This was why he put on his best face and distracted the kids from any potential pain. He didn't want them to fear going to the hospital or think the doctors wouldn't help them get better.

As he looked up at the TV, he took a bite of rice and readied himself for a slurp of miso soup.

Nowaki choked on his rice and slapped his chest.

The TV showed Hiroki performing - his current Hiroki - performing in front of an audience. Not as full as the current fans of the latest groups and idols, but a decent amount to fill the crowd. Many of the audience recorded the performance on their phones. Probably to spread it through social media.

Right behind him, Tsumori commented. "Since when is Kamijou hot?"

Nowaki jabbed Tsumori's solar plexus without hesitation.

 _"Hey!_ I'm just saying!" Tsumori huffed. "I didn't know he could sing though. It doesn't sound too bad."

Nowaki absentmindedly answered. "He was in _Abyss_ during his early 20s. He said he was doing a reunion album. I didn't think...he was going to..." Hiroki gyrated his hips while giving the camera a sexy gaze. _"Damn."_

* * *

When Nowaki commented about the performance, Hiroki slipped up his bedsheets with a glare. "What? Hiro-san, I saw the performance on TV. Although, I didn't know you would... want to perform right now. You just managed to get your classroom under control after the initial news."

"Asato is the best at manipulating people to get whatever he wants. You can blame him for getting me to perform. He guilt tripped me through using his watery puppy dog eyes. The kid can get away with _anything._ Remember, he was the one who dragged me to the audition that placed me in _Abyss."_ Underneath their comforter, Hiroki stretched out his limbs. "Good thing my mom didn't watch me."

Nowaki shuffled the pillow behind his head to make it extra comfortable before he laid back on it. "I think it's too late for that."

"What do you mean?"

Nowaki chuckled. "I got messages from Fuyumi-san during my shift."

"Huh?" Hiroki sat up. _"No."_

Nowaki averted his eyes. "She was sent the video by one of your aunts. Apparently, she was _scandalized_ over your sudden return on stage. How you and Asato were being shameless. Your mother defended you by the way. She _loved_ your singing."

Hiroki covered his head with the blanket before rolling over onto his stomach. _"Oh no."_ Burrowing his face into his pillow, Nowaki laughed out loud.

 _ **The end.**_


End file.
